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Islington Tribune - by ROISIN GADELRAB
Published: 22 August 2008

Lukas Grout, 17, and Naomi Ackie, 16

Big questions still to ask on teaching

A-Levels: Plenty to celebrate but schools still outperformed by City and Islington College

A-LEVEL results in Islington have risen across the board but questions were being asked this week about why the borough’s schools are still trailing behind City and Islington College.
While nearly 70 per cent of students at City and Islington, in Goswell Road, gained grades A-C, students in the same grade bracket at Islington’s Sixth Form Consortium – Highbury Grove, Central Foundation and Highbury Fields – trailed behind by 20 per cent.
At the same time, Islington’s schools were celebrating huge improvements on last year’s results, gaining 10 per cent on grade A-C and reaching 92.9 per cent (up from 82 per cent in 2007) in grades A-E.
Labour’s shadow education spokesman Richard Watts said: “I am pleased to see the Labour government’s huge investment in education over the last 11 years is paying off with better results for our kids.
“But it is worrying to see that A-level results in Islington’s schools are lagging behind those of City and Islington College. There are clearly some big questions to ask about the way Islington’s schools teach A-levels.”
But education chief Ursula Woolley said: “Congratulations to all the Islington students who got their A-level results last week. It’s great to see our school sixth forms fast closing the gap with the national average and it’s great to see Islington school leavers achieving real success at City and Islington College, in the context of the very strong long-term partnership between the college and our 11-16 schools.
“This is another clear sign that our schools are continuing to improve. I look forward to seeing more and more young people in Islington studying for A-levels, both at the College and at Islington schools.”
There were a number of exceptional performances by students from City and Islington College who had previously attended Islington secondary schools.
Twelve students from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Central Foundation and Holloway School all averaged 300 points or more, with five of them each gaining more than 900 points.

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